3 days ago, we rolled out a new, stricter minimum requirement for Verified and Super Travellers (VT/ST) in order to better recognise travellers who truly delivered a better experience than others as well as to set the right standard for the community. This resulted in the automatic demotion of many travellers’ status.

I would like to first admit and apologise that this was not implemented with grace. Sorry!We will, with immediate effect, be reverting the status to Verified Traveller for those who are affected.

Let me address the issues.

1. Unclear prior notice and ineffectiveness of email as a channel

On 2 March 2018, we sent this email, plus a notification in April regarding the implementation of the new requirements to be enforced on 2 April. However, we understand for many, the mail wasn’t sent to the primary inbox and was therefore overlooked. For future important updates, we’ll ensure that it gets to your primary folder. (What’s your preferred mode of communication? Telegram? Whatsapp?)

2. Why we did what we didFor a long time, we’ve observed that travellers tend to “reserve” multiple requests by ‘choping’ an offer, but later fail to deliver. This results in disappointment for the requesters. This false hope contributes to an overall bad experience, which means lesser returning requesters and poor business for both you and us. The purpose of the delivery rating is firstly, to set a clearer expectation on how likely requesters are to receive their item after making the deposit. Secondly, to set a baseline of what kind of service that our esteemed Travellers like you are expected to provide. For those Travellers who are not able to uphold the expected delivery, it will result in a negative spiral for the user experience in Airfrov. That was why we decided to act on this.

3. Delivery rateI understand that many cancellations by travellers are due to A) OOS, or B) requester’s change of mind, resulting in a lower than expected delivery rate.A) I acknowledge that OOS is not within your control. This is why we highly encourage you to make offers for items only if you are confident in purchasing it. B) The team is currently working on a function to allow requesters to initiate cancellation which will not affect traveller’s delivery rate. (We will update you on the progress of this.)The automated demotion also failed to consider the efforts and prior circumstances of our travellers who have been with us for a long time, and have made significant contributions to the Airfrov community. Sincere apologies for this.

Since the start of Airfrov, we have delivered happiness to thousands of requesters through delivering overseas products, and we could not have done it without travellers like you. Thank you for being a part of Airfrov’s community and partners! We value your contribution, and your feedback. Do message me at caili(at)airfrov.com if you have anything that you would like to raise, and we will act on it.

Cai Li

CoFounder and CEO, Airfrov

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https://www.airfrov.com/blog/dearest-travellers-we-are-sorry/

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AirfrovAirfrov is a peer to peer platform that matches travellers to requesters to fulfill requests for overseas products!
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